A. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to an apparatus for stretching a cylinder blanket on a sheet transfer cylinder of a sheet-fed rotary printing press. A first end of the blanket is maintained in a cylinder groove, and the other end of the blanket is fastened to a tiltable segment. The blanket is attached to the tiltable segment when the tiltable segment is in an open position, and the blanket is then stretched by closing the tiltable segment.
B. Background Information:
One example of a tiltable cylinder segment that could be used for stretching a cylinder blanket can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,858,305. However, the disclosed device is a printing plate stretching device on a plate cylinder, and it is not possible to stretch a blanket on a transfer cylinder in the same manner that a blanket can be stretched on a plate cylinder.
Another stretching apparatus for a blanket can be found in German Patent No. 75 22 036. However, the German patent does not provide a simple and easy manner in which to stretch the blanket.